“Audio Maverick” Shares the Story of the National Radio Hall of Famer and CUNY Alumnus
CUNY TV, the public educational television station of The City University of New York, today announced the launch of “Audio Maverick,” a nine-part documentary podcast spotlighting the life and work of radio visionary Himan (Hi) Brown. The Brooklyn College graduate produced and directed more than 30,000 radio shows for every major radio network, working with the biggest actors of his time.
Produced in partnership with the Himan Brown Collection, held by CUNY TV’s archives, the series is the first original podcast by the University’s television station. “Audio Maverick” explores the Golden Age of Radio, the period roughly spanning the 1930s through the 1950s, when commercial radio was the primary form of home entertainment, through the life and work of Brown. The series premieres on Thursday, Oct. 10., with new episodes scheduled to air biweekly.
“We’re excited to launch CUNY TV’s first-ever original podcast series, offering New Yorkers a glimpse into the Golden Age of Radio through the legacy of one of their own, who also happens to be a CUNY graduate,” said CUNY Senior Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing Maite Junco. “I congratulate the team at CUNY TV and the Himan Brown Collection for their effort in archiving and documenting Brown’s story.”
Through the lens of Brown’s career, the podcast looks at the birth of radio and how his programming attracted millions of families into their living rooms every night. The podcast utilizes archival material of some of the most famous audio dramas, contemporary interviews with media scholars and discussions with a new generation of audio mavericks who Brown inspired.
“We are proud to bring to life the extraordinary life and career of Himan Brown, an iconic figure from the Golden Age of Radio whose collection we have the privilege of having archived at CUNY TV,” said CUNY TV Interim Executive Director Chiqui Cartagena. “We know that our listeners will appreciate learning about how this CUNY alumnus shaped the industry, and it’s only fitting that we pay homage to a radio visionary by entering the audio space ourselves with CUNY TV’s first original podcast.”
Brown, who died a month before his 100th birthday in 2010, was known for his wide-ranging talents as a producer over his seven-decade career, collaborating with actors including Helen Hayes, Frank Sinatra, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Gregory Peck and Orson Welles. He started his broadcast career as a teenager, launching his first show in 1927, before beginning his studies at Brooklyn College.
He received the American Broadcast Pioneer and Peabody awards, and was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in the 1990s. Throughout his life, he remained engaged with his alma mater, teaching audio drama there and producing programming for the college’s radio station – today’s WBCR-AM – even after reaching age 90. He was presented with an honorary doctorate by the college in 2003.
The son of Jewish immigrants from present-day Ukraine, Brown was known for his commitment to Jewish culture. This dedication was reflected in his work, as his first broadcast opportunity involved reading newspapers with a Yiddish dialect. To continue this legacy, the Himan Brown Charitable Trust endows the Himan Brown program at the 92nd Street Y, providing programming for seniors in the community.
The Audio Maverick creative team includes veteran producer Sarah Montague, whose many audio documentary and drama programs include “The Fall of the City: Prophetic Classic,” “Titanic: Unsinkable Myth,” “The Radio Stage” and “T is for Tom: The Radio Plays of Tom Stoppard.” The podcast’s host, Margot Avery, has performed “The Portable Dorothy Parker” in festivals and theaters across the United States and United Kingdom since 2012. Sound designer John deLore has helped to create the unique sounds of many programs in our ears today, including “The Paris Review Podcast,” “In the Dark” (from the New Yorker), “Weight for It” and “Delejos,” an episode from the CBC show “Love Me.” Composer Allison Leyton-Brown has created works for television shows including “The Good Wife,” and in the podcast realm has made music for “In the Dark,” “Unfinished: Short Creek,” “Imposters” and “This American Life.”
“It has been a privilege to get to know Himan Brown through his life and work,” said Montague. “An architect of what made Golden Age Radio great, he kept company with cops and robbers, heroes and housewives, pirate ships and ‘Grand Central Station.’ He was also a visionary about all that audio drama could and might be, and everyone in the field today is part of his legacy.”
For a list of full credits, graphical assets and preview audio of the first episode, please access the press kit.
About CUNY TV
CUNY TV is the City University of New York’s 24-hour television station and is New York’s leading public educational channel. Established in 1985, CUNY TV is committed to extending CUNY’s academic mission to connect and uplift the diverse experiences of New York communities through relevant & meaningful stories and offer lifelong learning opportunities to all New Yorkers.
About Multitude
Multitude is a podcast company made up of passionate people creating shows you can count on. They enable dozens of creators to make a living from their podcasts through their studio, production services, and digital ad sales. Based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, they pursue the ultimate goal of creating a sustainable living through digital creation. They create, run, and grow original podcasts while teaching people & companies how to do the same. Since 2017, their shows have tens of millions of downloads and hundreds of thousands of people who love them (and more than a few logo tattoos).
About CUNY
The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 233,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “genius grants.” The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.
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